For Tricia

Photo copyright Aji, 2016; all rights reserved.

We have no cats. I'm allergic, and we wouldn't trust Raven not to mistake them for oddly-shaped prairie dogs anyway.

We have dogs, but none of the photos fits, nor do those of horses or chickens.

We have wild birds, creatures who hold the winds and the light at their command.

I think, on this day, that they belong to Tricia — wild birds, winds, and light, all three.

As I said elsewhere, you always think there'll be more time. You never think the worst will happen; the mind is simply not allowed to walk down that dark path.

All day, my mind has returned repeatedly to one image, from a couple of weeks ago: a wild starling silhouetted in the dawn light, a gift of an image that I didn't know I had until it was done.

A single small bird springing onto the winds, into the light.

I think Tricia is with it now, free of pain, able to breathe, springing onto the winds, flying into the light.

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Aji, 2016; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.